New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Is capitalism really about the ability of a handful of rich people to manipulate the lives of thousands of people and then walk off with the money ? ''

`` The 1 % is doing fine . I want to help the 99 % . ''

The above statements are the type you might expect to hear at an Occupy Wall Street protest . But they were n't uttered there . Instead , the first was from Newt Gingrich and the second was from Mitt Romney .

We now have a war of words launched at the 1 % by the 1 % -- or in the case of Mitt Romney , the .01 % .

These type of populist attacks escalated in the last few days as Gingrich criticized Romney for living `` in a world of Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island accounts '' and for earning `` $ 20 million a year income with no work . ''

What 's going on here ?! Have we been transported to some `` Bizarro World '' where everything is backward ? Since when does the Republican Party care about income equality ?

The answer is simple : These issues are now resonating with voters . More than 60 % of voters support policies addressing income inequality .

Indeed , an even higher number support raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans .

In 1992 , Bill Clinton 's then-campaign manager , James Carville , famously hung a sign in the campaign office to remind Clinton to focus on the most pressing issue of that presidential race : `` It 's the economy , stupid . '' Today , that sign would be updated to read : `` It 's the income inequality , stupid . ''

Over the last 10 years , American families have become poorer with the median household income dropping by 7 % . Some have termed this a `` Lost Decade '' as prices have risen , but our buying power has shrunk .

And just as alarming , the number of Americans living in poverty has risen to more than 46 million people , its highest rate since 1993 .

At the same time , the rich have become richer . A recent study found the income of the top 1 % of Americans almost tripled from 1979 to 2007 , increasing by 275 % . This means the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us in America is growing .

The only time in America 's history that we have witnessed this type of chasm between the wealthy and poor was shortly before the Great Depression .

But as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich detailed in his book `` Aftershock , '' economic growth can only be sustained for prolonged periods of time when the gap between the rich and poor is narrowed . As Reich notes , the top 1 % -- no matter how wealthy they become -- can not alone fuel our consumer-driven economy . Only a vibrant middle class can accomplish that .

If we continue down this path of greater income inequality , I fear the unthinkable could occur : the death of the American dream .

`` The American dream '' -- at least to me -- is that each generation has the opportunity to live a better life than the one before . Thankfully , we have not been a nation shackled with a socioeconomic caste system . Instead , America has offered the prospect of economic mobility . It is this promise that has inspired Americans to dream big .

The American dream has also inspired millions to immigrate to this nation . My Palestinian father and Sicilian grandparents crossed many oceans to live in a country that offered them opportunity . They both were born in places where if you were n't rich by birth , your prospects for climbing the social ladder were low -- indeed , it would have been cruel even to harbor such dreams since there was almost no chance of realizing them . But America offered them a place to dream .

Years ago I heard U2 's Bono sum up the difference between the United States and other nations when it came to economic opportunity . His quote has stayed with me ever since : `` In the United States , you look at the guy that lives in the mansion on the hill , and you think , you know , one day , if I work really hard , I could live in that mansion . In Ireland , people look up at the guy in the mansion on the hill and go , ` One day , I 'm going to get that bastard . ' ''

Will we become a nation where our destiny is no longer based on our actions , but on the happenstance of the economic tier we are born into ? A nation where we view the wealthy with contempt ?

The wealthy paying their fair share of taxes should not be a partisan issue . History has shown that policies to promote greater income equality are good for all Americans both economically and because they preserve the American dream that the rich , the poor -- and everyone in between -- can not only dream but can also achieve a better life for themselves and their family .

Join the conversation on Facebook .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah .

@highlight

Newt Gingrich criticizes Mitt Romney 's brand of capitalism ; Romney urges help for 99 %

@highlight

Dean Obeidallah says GOP talks of income inequality because Americans want to address it

@highlight

He says America has long been a place of economic opportunity

@highlight

Obeidallah : Will Americans ' destiny be based on the economic tier they 're born into ?